Friday, December 4, 2009

Top EP's Of The Year: Rookie Of The Year - Since I Left Your World

December is here, meaning it is time for the best of the year lists. To kick things off is Rookie Of The Year. I had heard of them before this EP, however I had not given much of a listen to them. After hearing such positive comments on AP.net, as well as there being an exclusive early listen of the track, I decided to look into it. Now it's one of my favorite EPs of the year.

The title track, Since I Left Your World is a great introduction to Rookie Of The Year's style. Their acoustic guitar/piano combo works extremely well in separating themselves from other bands. They diversify by adding other instruments including drums, electric guitar, and even tambourine in some songs. The songs still stay catchy even with the tranquility of the album. The choruses of Slow Down and Hey Lauren show the catchy hooks Rookie Of The Year can create. This is supported even more by the Ba Ba Ba's in And We Sing The Melody. The album ends with Eight Eight Keys, my favorite song on the album. It's a brilliant piano ballad that has a peaceful intensity in it. Ryan's vocals are brilliant as he sings "Eighty Eight Keys" The soft piano ends both the song and the EP.

One of my favorite things about starting this blog is my willingness to listen to new and different music. Occasionally, I find extremely talented bands such as Rookie Of The Year. I have talked to Ryan several times and he is a great dude. That also is another plus of the blog. It's always great to talk to the band members, since my one and only job from writing this blog is to promote the very best bands out there. This is a great album and a definite must listen. Check them out on myspace HERE.

Actually, I've met the guys. They went to school actually right behind my Grandmother's house. Maybe in January I'll get something done on them, but for now I have a lot of other stuff to do with the end of the year lists.